Colin T. Stiles, GISP

About Me

I am the GIS Manager for Tennessee's Division of Forestry, where I leverage geospatial technology to support the sustainable management and protection of Tennessee's forest resources. My background is rooted in diverse consulting work, where I spent years solving complex geospatial and environmental challenges for clients across the United States, ranging from renewable energy and power delivery to stream restoration, mitigation banking, and telecommunications.

I specialize in performing complex spatial analyses, managing databases, creating aesthetic cartographic maps, and building custom workflows and web applications that empower stakeholders to make spatially-informed decisions. I take pride in my professional judgment by avoiding the "black box" — where solutions are buried in unnecessarily complicated models. I believe that while our tools are powerful, the quality of our decisions relies on clear, transparent insights. As George Box famously said, "All models are wrong, but some are useful."

Outside of the office, I am passionate about outdoor sports and spending time with my family. You can frequently find me kayaking the Gauley River in West Virginia, climbing at the Lily Boulders in Obed, or generally causing mischief in the great outdoors with my amazing partner, Jess, and our two dogs, Willow and Coconut.